Setting up Agents / Resellers and Unbranded Owners

Summary

This article describes how to set up and use agents and unbranded owners.

Setting up Agents Within EngageIP Billing

There are a couple of different ways that agents can be set up within EngageIP Billing.
1. Add an agent role, and then create a new account under the main owner so that said account can
log in and manage customers within that owner.
2. Add an unbranded owner so that all accounts added by that agent reside under that ‘Agent Owner’
account and can then be directly administered by said agent while at the same time using the main
owners packages and setup configuration.

Setting up Unbranded Owners for use as Agents

The common method for allowing agents to sell packages is to add an unbranded owner (unbranded means that the owner does not have his own invoices, credit card processor or logos. Also an unbranded owner inherits all of the setup and packages of the main owner or branded owner above him).

To Create an Unbranded Owner

1. Create an account, i.e. ‘Agent Owner’ (or whatever the agent should be called, this is the login account for the agent)

2. Click the Setup tab

3. Under the Accounts and Roles section click the Owners link

4. Click Add

5. Select the newly created account from the list

6. Uncheck the Branded option

7. Click Save

The account just created can now be logged in to. Remember to assign the appropriate role and permissions to that owner account.

The owner setup is a hierarchy so the agent owner will inherit all of the settings of the main owner or branded owner above him. The agent owner can login, add accounts, select from the full list of packages that are present on the main owner and then manage the accounts under him.

The agent owner cannot look above him in the owner hierarchy or to the left or right in the hierarchy tree (i.e. if agents exist on the same level, Agent 1, Agent 2, and Agent 3, these agents cannot see each other's accounts nor manage accounts other then their own.)

Creating User Accounts and Using Them as Agents

An alternative and much simpler method, but not as versatile, is to add a standard account, create a role named ‘Agent’ and then only apply the permissions necessary for that agent.

1. Create a role for the agent, (i.e. Agent Role)

2. Add an account

3. Select the correct role for the account (Agent Role)

The new account can now log in to the system and has access based on their role's permission set. These agents will however have access to accounts added by other ‘admins’ in the system so for security and segregation, this may not be an ideal setup.